The Linux mascot is a penguin, and a Gentoo is a kind of penguin. Gentoo Linux's mascot is, however, a cow, and this is a non-commercial distribution available only via the Internet. It is sourcecode based, which means all the packages are downloaded, compiled and built on your machine and optimised for that system. This makes it quite different from all the other packages we've looked at here, which install prebuilt binary software for generic PCs. Gentoo is the largest distribution here, offering many thousands of packages and being non-commercial, is completely free.
The software package system, known as Portage, is unique to Gentoo, although partially based on the FreeBSD OS' Ports system. The Gentoo Project maintains a tree of information containing all the automated instructions to download and build each package, including all dependencies on other related packages. Similar to the Debian APT system, automatic resolution of dependent packages means installing complex pieces of software can be done in just one step.
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The main purpose of any source-based distribution is to have complete control over what software is installed and how aggressively optimised it is for the hardware it runs upon. Generally speaking, other distributions use software that runs on any Pentium system or above, and do not take advantage of new processor capabilities such as MMX and SSE. The design of processors varies as well; code that still runs on both an Intel Pentium 4 and an AMD Athlon can be optimised to perform better on one particular model. Some distributions do include optimised kernels but Gentoo is built from scratch.
As a result, the installation for Gentoo is for experts only. The bootable CD simply drops you to a command prompt in a shell. If that idea scares you, Gentoo is probably not for you. There is no graphical or even text-based installer, and you must manually partition your hard drive and create filesystems before you can begin to build the base system and kernel. A set of detailed instructions with lots of examples is provided on the website and the CD.
The base system takes a couple of hours to compile, even on the latest hardware, and it doesn't include any graphical desktops or programs. The nature of the Portage system means you can easily install the KDE desktop with just one command, but the sheer amount of packages that must be compiled will lead to a build time of a day or more. Consequently, Gentoo is a distribution only suitable for mid to high-end systems with a broadband (or better) Internet connection.
Aside from the optimisation, Gentoo has another distinct benefit in having all the latest versions of software available. There's no need to wait around for six months for a new release, as the Portage tree is constantly updated. This leads to enhancement updates being available as quickly as security updates from other distributors. The drawback is that the latest releases can often introduce bugs as well as fix them, so Gentoo may not be ideal for systems where stability is vital.
Once the long installation is over, Gentoo isn't difficult to maintain. Updating the system is simple; one command downloads updated packages, compiles and installs them. Complex packages such as video players are easier to install than in any other distribution, as Gentoo downloads and builds the necessary libraries and codecs in the right order, making sure everything is in sync. With such flexible control, Gentoo can excel as a server or desktop operating system, due to Portage. On the administration front, however, there is no centralised configuration system, again emphasising this distribution as more suited to Linux experts.
Several CD images can be downloaded from the Gentoo website, and these can be written to blank CDs to create the boot disc. Alternatively, some online resellers offer Gentoo for a small charge. The bulk of the operating system is downloaded during the installation from many software sites across the world; the Portage system takes care of that.
Look out for the DVD edition of Personal Computer World June 2004 (on sale - 22 April) which will include a copy of Gentoo 2004.
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